does anyone know if taping will be allowed at these 'rehearsal' shows? i didn't see anything on the furthur site or the frontgate ticket site. i know the throck and masonic 'stealth' shows were 'no taping allowed', but wondering if they've dropped that position given the number of shows the band has under its belt now.

Simply brilliant. Anyone who purports to love Grateful Dead would have loved this show.

Room is a bit cheesy, nothing fancy or special at all, nice but just a generic little wedding reception room you'd find in a thousand restaurants or Holiday Inn's, and they really don't want you to smoke inside (they don't care if you smoke, just not inside) but it wasn't overcrowded and it sounded REAL good.

I had heard somewhere that they sold 300 for this place, but I have a hard time believing there were 300 people inside that room. If so it's a comfortable 300.

Phil was on FIRE during Shakedown & Good Lovin', and what a better way to open a show in the industrial backstreets of San Rafael than with Shakedown Street?

Really good, strong, energetic playing all night, but personal favorites were the Shakedown/Good Lovin' opener with great energy and jamming; Cumberland 1st jam was amazing; Looks Like Rain was outstanding (really); Reuben & Cerise had a great jam and so did Uncle John's Band(!); Scarlet/Fire was right on.

Bob again is looking & sounding real good, and his guitar playing was damn good Bob Weir rhythms.

They were having fun and getting to know each other again. JK was RIPPING and is an excellent, subtle & very creative player. He doesn't smack you across the face, but he comes at you in some really odd directions and he knows how to use space and leave notes un-played to give the music some room to breath. I thought he was great tonight.

Different without Jay Lane. I always like a 2-drummer sound, it broadens the music somehow, but Russo is a great drummer and he handled it all just fine, thank you. Another REALLY creative & subtle player, they struck gold with him.

But wow, that one female singer sure has had some hormone issues since I saw her last.

Another really special night. These shows are truly unique and those of us who are there are damn lucky to be getting in. Everywhere I looked I saw friends, zoners & people I know, and everyone was having a pretty good time, I'd say.

Very cool to have Jeff Pehrson on board. Anyone know if it is just for the rehearsals or is he a replacement?

Used to really get into Box Set. Here's their bio out of Artist Direct...

The alterna-rock five-piece Box Set casts jaunty layers of rootsy Americana to make a post-jangle pop sound. Coming together in 1991, frontman guitarist Jim Brunberg and acoustic guitarist Jeff Pehrson met at an open mic night in San Francisco. Their musical connection was instant, and quickly Brunberg and Pehrson quit their day jobs and started playing the cafe circuit throughout California. Shortly thereafter, bassist Chad Heise, drummer Mark Abbott, and organist Sam Johnston joined the ranks to make Box Set complete. The band released three albums independently in the mid-'90s and received heavy accolades from the media. Their 1994 self-titled debut was hailed by Billboard, but 1995's 27 garnered Box Set the honor of being named Group of the Year by the National Academy of Songwriters. Two years later, Box Set also racked in two Bammies (Bay Area Music Awards) for their critically-acclaimed third album Meantime and scored a corporate deal with Capricorn/Polygram to release 1998's Thread with producer Joe Chicarelli (Tori Amos, American Music Club, Frank Zappa). The pop-happy fourth studio effort Lemonade followed two years later.

This is the first time I recall a Dead-related band using a male backup vocalist who was not otherwise in the band. Am I wrong or is this new ground? Nothing wrong with breaking new ground, imho, but just wondering.

great, great night. funky little spot, but the people inside made the vibe. except, of course, for the folks up front who couldn't bother to respect the "no smoking inside" rule. not only were there some underage folks there, but there was an outside area for smoking 15 feet from the stage. as a result, the venue turned the lights on and kept 'em on all night to keep the selfish folks on their toes. a shame, really. how hard is it to take 2 minutes, walk 15 feet, smoke out, and come back? it's not like you had to fight your way through 500 people to get back to the front.

again, i'm always amazed at how cool 99% of the people in the scene are...and continually disappointed by the 1% that are so selfish they alter a vibe for the rest of us.

that said, gotta hand it to furthur for creating and maintaining a mood even with the house lights on the crowd.

To merely say that J. C. Juanis is the publicist for Phil Lesh and Friends is to vastly understate his contributions to the group. J.C. has, indeed, been their publicist, but also photographer, liason, archivist, limo driver, stagehand, historian and, among many, many other things, project coordinator for the 2006 DVD (and companion CD) release: Phil Lesh & Friends Live at the Warfield.

J.C. has been associated with all things Dead at least since his creation of the regular Bay Area Bits column for Relix Magazine. His friendship with the band and his forthright respect for their music led him to greater degrees of involvement, up through this most recent venture by Phil and the troups.